Type-wheel mechanism.



D. A. STOWELL, A. C. SIVIIIH & E. H. COSGROVE.

TYPE WHEEL MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED IULY27, 9I6- Patented Apr. 30. 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET I eerlze I D. A. STOWELL, A. C. SMITH & E. H. COSGROVE.

TYPE WHEEL MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 27,1916.

1,264320. Patented Apr. 30. 1918.

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- DESRIE A. STOWELL, 0F GARDNER, AND ALBERT 0. SMITH, 0F PITTSFIELD, MASSA- CHUSETTS, AND EDWIN H. CO-SGROVE, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNORS TO SIMPLEX TIME RECORDER C0., OF GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

TYPE-WHEEL MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Original application filed October 25, 1913, Serial No. 797,315. Divided. and this application filed July 27,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, DESRIE A. STOWELL, ALBERT C. SMITH, and EDWIN H. vCoseiaovn, citizens of the United States, said STownLL residing at Gardner, county of Worcester, and State of Massachusetts, said SMITH residing at Pittsfield, in the county of Berkshire and State of Massachusets, said Coscnovn residing at New Haven, county of New Haven, and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Type-VVheel Mechanism, of. which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a type wheel mechanism, and particularly to the so-called transfer mechanism for advancing one type wheel after a differenttype wheel has made a complete revolution or a predetermined part of a revolution. lVhile the mechanism is of general application, it is herein shown as applied to the time printing wheels of a workmans time recorder, this application being a division of our prior application, Serial No. 7 97,315, filed October 25, 1913.

It is the object of our invention to provide improved devices for intermittently advancing the several type wheels in timed relation, and for positively locking said wheels against accidental displacement. To the attainment of this object, a principal feature of our invention relates to the provision of quick-acting and positive locking devices for the detents which normally position the type wheels and prevent their rotation. Another feature of our invention relates to the provision of means for withdrawing said devices and unlocking said detents preliminary to the periodic advance of the type wheels, the advance of the wheels automatically rendering the locking devices again operative.

Our invention further relates to certain arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A preferred form of our invention is shown in the drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of our improved type wheel mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is asectional side elevation taken along the line 3-3 in Fig. 2;

Serial No. 111,731.

Fig.4 is a front elevation of certain of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the mechanism for actuating the day wheel, the type wheelsand the hour wheel actuating mechanism being omitted;

Fig. 6 shows the same parts but in a different position, and

Fig. 7 is a detail view of the feed pawls.

The type wheel mechanism. in connection with which our invention is herein disclosed, comprises a main shaft 13 to which a minute wheel 14 is rigidly secured, and an hour wheel 1a, and day wheel 16 loosely supported by the shaft 13 and positioned adjacent the minute wheel 11 and on opposite sides thereof. The main or minute wheel shaft is provided with a gear 17 meshing with a gear 18 upon a driving shaft 12 which is given one complete revolution each hour by any suitable time controlling mechanism.

In order to properly position the hour and day printing wheels, pawl mechanism is provided which is adapted to advance the hour printing wheel one step upon every revolution of the minute printing wheel and to advance the day printing wheel one step upon each revolution of the hour print-ing wheel, the minute printing wheel being commonly provided with sixty characters, from 00 to 59, the hour printing wheel with twenty-four characters from 1 to 12, and repeated, and the day print-ing wheel with thirty-one characters 1 to 31.

The hour and day printing wheels are actuated through the medium of a bell crank mounted upon a hollow stud carried by a fixed portion of the frame F and concentric with the main shaft 13. One arm 36 of said bell crank is provided with a lug 37 (Fig. l) which engages a cam 38 carried by the driving shaft 12, the bell crank thereby receiving its idle or backward movement. To reduce the friction load upon the driving mechanism, an anti-friction roll 37 is mounted within a slot in the lug 37, its periphery projecting slightly below the lower surface of the lug. greater portion of the travel of the cam 38 the arm 36 is supported by the roll 37 and a very light drag upon the clock results. Just previous to the hour change the point During the v of the cam passes beyond the roll and the arm 36 is then supported by the lug 37, which insures accurate time of the hour change. As will be hereinafter explained in detail, the other arm 39 of the bell crank carries pawls adapted to engage ratchet Wheels fixed to the hour and day wheels respectively. It also carries releasing arms which are adapted to engage tumblers which normally look the hour and day wheels from rotation and release the same just before the pawls engage the ratchet to advance the hour and day wheels respectively. The mechanisms are so arranged that immediately after the day or hour wheels have been advanced one step the parts are again automatically locked and overthrow prevented. A coil spring 39 is secured at one end to the frame F (Fig. 1) and at the other end to the arm 39 and constitutes the actuating means for the pawls during their operative or forward movement. I

In view of the fact that the mechanisms for operating the day and the hour wheels are very similar, a description of one will, in the main, serve for both.

The mechanism for rotating and positioning the hour wheel will first be described.

The hour wheel 15, as before stated, is rotatably mounted upon the main shaft 13. A ratchet wheel 40 (Fig. 1) having 2 l teetl and a positioning disk 41-1 having V-shaped teeth corresponding in number and position to the hour characters are rigidly secured to the hour wheel. A positioning detent 42 is pivoted upon a shaft 48 carried by lugs 44., 45 (Figs. 1 and 2) on the frame and has a V-shaped end 46 which is pressed into engagement with the teeth l? of the positioning disk by a spring 48. By reason of the fact that the V-shaped end l6 conforms exactly to the recesses between the teeth 4-7 of the positioning disl' ll the hour printing wheel is always held in proper position for printing an hour. The pivoted detent i2 is normally locked by an Lshaped tumbler e9 (Fig. 1) pivoted upon the frame F. One arm 50 of the tumbler is held in engagement with a notch 42" in the top of the detent 42 by a spring 51 attached to the other arm 52 of the tumbler and to a bracket 53 which projects downwardly from the frame F.

A similar detent and tumbler are provided for locking the day wheel, as will be hereinafter described. The arm 39 of the bell crank carries at its end a stud 55 (Fig. 7) upon which is loosely mounted a sleeve 56 I (Figs. 5 and 6).- carryii'ig pawls 57 and 58 for rotating the day and hour wheel respectively. The pawls 57 and 58 are both rlgidly secured to the sleeve 56 and a releasing arm 60, for forcing the day Wheel tumbler from-locking position, is firmly secured to the pawl 58, so that the pawls57 and 58 and the arm 60 move 1n unison about the stud A releasing rm for forcing the hour wheel tumbler from locking position. is loosely mounted on the stud 55. The pawl 57 for rotating the hour wheel is pressed into engagement at all times with the teeth of the ratchet wheel lO by a spring 1 coiled about and secured to the stud the free end of said spring being hooked over the top of the pawl 58. The releasing arm 59 has an offset end 62 (Fig. 2) adapted to cotiperate with a pin 54 on the arm 50 of the tumbler 49, and is mounted at the forward end of the stud 55. It is normally depressed by a spring 63 which is coiled around and secured to the stud the free end of said spring being hooked over the top of the releasing arm 59.

The rotation of the hour wheel, is accomplished as follows: The main shaft is driven at the same speed as the drive shaft through the medium of gears 17, 18, and each makes one full revolution each hour. The cam 38 is so mounted upon the driving shaft that the lug 37 on the arm 36 of the bell crank lever will drop over the shoulder of said cam at the instant the 00 character of the minute wheel reaches printing position. When the arm 36 of the bell crank lever drops, the other arm 39 also rotates about the main shaft under the influence of thespring 39 This movement first causes the offset end 62 of the releasing arm 59 to strike the pin 54 on the tumbler arm 50 and force the end of said tumbler arm from its locking engagement in the notch 42 of the detent 42 thus releasing the detent. Upon further forward movement of the bell crank arm 39 the pawl 57 engages the shoulder of a ratchet tooth and advances the same one step, the extent of movement of said pawl being limited a lug G l (Fig. 1) on the frame F against which the extended end of the bell crank arm 36 strikes. After the pawl ha advanced far enough to rotate the hour wheel slightly over one half a step the offset 62 of the releasing arm 59 passes under the pin 5% on the tumbler arm 50 and permits the latter to be instantly thrown back by the spring 51 to vard locking oosition.

In the forward movement of the ratchet wheel the end of the detent arm 42 rides up the forward side of a tooth 1-7 of the positioning disk all and as soon as it passes the crest of the tooth it aids in advancing the hour wheel until the end of said arm reaches full engagement with the positioning disk. In the meantlmc the tumbler 49 has been released so that the instant the end of the detent 42 reaches normal position it is again locked by the tumbler arm 50. T

The mechanism for actuating the idav wheel is substantially the same as that above (described for operating the hour wheel, there being a ratchetwheel 65 and a positioning disk 66, (Figs. 5an'd 6) attached rigidly to said day wheel 16, and cooperating respectively with the pawl 58 carried by the sleeve 56, a locking detent 67, a tumbler 68 and a releasing arm 60. The means for actuating the day wheel differs from that of the hour wheel, however, in that the ratchet wheel is smaller than the ratchet wheel 40 and the pawl 58 and the releasing arm 60 for unlocking the tumbler 68 are each so secured to the sleeve 56 as to be normally held (Fig. 5) out of operative relation with the ratchet wheel 65 and tumbler 68 respectively, by the pawl 57 resting upon the large ratchet wheel LO (Fig. 1).

The hour ratchet wheel 40 is provided with one deep notch 69 (Fig. 1) so positioned as to be engaged by the pawl 57, which rotates the hour wheel, at midnight. lVhen the pawl 57 drops into this deep notch it allows the pawl 58 and releasing arm 60, which are attached thereto, to drop sufliciently to cooperate with the ratchet and tumbler for the day wheel and advance the latter one step in the same manner as above described in connection with the hour wheel.

WVe thus provide type wheel feeding devices which are reliable in operation and which effectively prevent accidental advances of any of the type wheels. The detents are positively locked by their tumblers during substantially the whole of each revolution, the tumblers being momentarily removed during the feeding of the wheels and returning instantly to locking posi tion.

While we have shown the invention applied to the time printing wheels of a time recorder, our invention is not limited thereto and may be used in any mechanism in which type wheels are advanced in definite relation to each other, such as cash registers, adding machines, numbering devices, etc.

Having thus described our invention, it will be evident that changes and modifications can be made therein without depart ing from the spirit and scope of our invention as set forth in the claims and we do not wish to be otherwise limited to the details herein disclosed but what we claim 1s:-

1. In a type wheel mechanism, in combination, a type wheel, and means for operating said wheel comprising a detent mounted on a fixed pivot and normally securing said wheel from rotation, an arm movable into position to positively lock said detent, a feed pawl movable into operative position independently of said detent and while said detent is locked, and means including a continuously rotated cam effective to periodically remove said locking arm from operative position thereby unlocking said detent as said feed pawl advances and to thereafter advance said pawl to rotate said type wheel one step.

2. In a type wheel mechanism, in combination, first, second and third type wheels,

meansto advance the first type wheel, lock ing mechanism for said second and third wheels, means operated in definite relation to the movement of said first wheel for unlocking and feeding said second wheel, means also operated in definite relation to the movement of said first wheel for unlocking and feeding said third wheel, and connections between said feeding means whereby the feeding means for the second wheel maintains the feeding means for the third wheel normally inoperative but permits the same to become operative once in each revolution of said second wheel.

3. In a type wheel mechanism, first, second and third type wheels, means to advance the first, type wheel, feeding means for said second and third wheels periodically and simultaneously operated in definite relation to the movement of said first wheel, the feeding strokes of said third wheel feeding mechanism being rendered normally inoperative by said second wheel feeding mechanism, and means whereby one of said strokes shall be rendered operative in each revolution of said second wheel.

4:. In a type wheel mechanism, a first type wheel, mechanism for continuously rotating the same, a second type wheel, means for normally securing said second wheel from rotation comprising a detent and means for positively locking said detent, a third type wheel, a second detent normally securing said third wheel from rotation and means for positively locking said second detent, said detents and said locking means being mounted on fixed pivots, movably mounted feeding means including a continuously r0 tated cam effective to unlock the detent to said second wheel and to intermittently rotate said second wheel, and feeding means movable with said first mentioned feeding means and controlled by said second wheel effective to unlock the detent of the third wheel and to intermittently advance said third wheel.

5. In a type wheel mechanism, in combination, first and second type wheels, a main shaft to which the first wheel is rigidly conneeted and upon which the second wheel is rotatably mounted, means including a detent and a tumbler mounted on separate fixed pivots and effective to lock the second type wheel during each full rotation of the first wheel, a feed pawl and means including a continuously rotated cam operating at the end of each revolution of the first wheel to move the tumbler from looking position to unlock momentarily said detent and the second type wheel as said feed pawl simultaneously advances the wheel.

6. In a type wheel mechanism, in combination, first, and second type wheels, a main shaft to which the first wheel is rigidly connected and upon which the second wheel is rotatably mounted, a ratchet wheel and a toothed positioning disk rigidly afliXed to to said second type wheel, a detent adapted to engage the teeth of the positioning disk,

a tumbler normally engaging and locking 7 said detent, and pawl mechanism movable independently of said detent and tumbler and operable by a continuously rotated cam once during each revolution of the first wheel to move said tumbler and release said detent and to engage and advance said. ratchet wheel.

7 In a type wheel mechanism, first and second type wheels, a driving shaft, a main shaft to which the first wheel is rigidly con nected and upon which. the second wheel is rotatably mounted, a toothed ratchet wheel and a positioning disk having a correspond ing number of teeth, both rigidly afiixed to the second wheel, a detent pivoted upon the fixed frame and engaging the teeth of the positioning disk, 3 tumbler also mounted on a fixed pivot and normally engaging and locking said detent, feed mechanism comprising a pawl pivoted upon a freely swinging arm and engaging the ratchet wheel and a pivoted arm movable with said pawl and adapted to engage and release said tumbler, and a cam mounted upon the driving shaft for controlling the actuation of the feed mechanism.

8. In a type wheel mechanism, the combination of a main shaft, a driving shaft,me hanism for operating said driving shaft, a first type wheel rigidly mounted upon the main shaft, second and third type wheels rotatably mounted on said main shaft, sepa rate pawl mechanisms mounted concentric with the main shaft for rotating the second wheel and the third wheel, means carried by the driving shaft for controlling the simultaneous actuation of said pawl mechanisms, and means carried by the second wheel for controlling the operation of the pawl mechanism for the third wheel.

9. In a type wheel mechanism, in combination, mechanism comprising first and second type wheels, and operating means therefor comprising a rotating edge cam and an actuating lever for said second wheel moved thereby, said lever having a lug contacting with said cam and controlling the advance having minute, hour and day prlnting wheels, a driving snaft, a ear mounted upon,

said shaft, a main shaft to which the minute wheel is rigidly onnected and upon which the day and hour wheels are rotatably mounted, a ratchet wheel having the recess between one pai of teeth deeper than those between the others, a positioning disk having a corresponding number of teeth, said ratchet and positioning disk being rigidly connected to the hour wheel, a pivoted detent engaging the teeth of said positioning disk, a tumbler normally engaging said detent, a day print ing wheel having secured thereto a ratchet wheel and a positioning disk, a detent engaging the teeth of said positioning disk, a tumbler adapted to engage the last mentioned detent and cam actuated pawl mech anism for rotating the day and hour wheel and a pivoted arm adapted to engage and release the tumbler of the locking mechanism for the hour wheel at each revolution of said cam and advance 7 the hour wheel one step, a pawl adapted to engage the ratchet of the day wheel but normally restrained from such engagement, but

so controlled by the pawl operating the hour wheel that when the latter entersthe deep recess of the hour wheel ratchet it will unlock the detent for the day wheel andsimultaneously cause the engagement of the day wheel pawl with its ratchet to advance said day wheel one step.

11. In a type wheel mechanism, first, sec 0nd and third type wheels concentrically mounted, said second and third wheels having positionin disks and ratchet wheels secured thereto, independent detents for said disks, arms engaging and looking said detents, and means to remove said arms momentarily and feed said disks, said means comprising a bell crank, a stud thereon, two feed pawls loose thereon but fixed to each other, a release arm fixed to one of said pawls, and a second release arm loose on said stud.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto aflixed our signatures.

DESRIE A. STOVVELL. ALBERT C. SMITH. EDWIN H. COSGROVE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

